


Cogito, Ergo Sum

by tasibi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Accidental fusion, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Angst, Bittersweet, Complete, Cussing, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Kira is trying his best, M/M, Not that plot heavy, So is Will, Somewhere s2 and s4, by that i mean like one f bomb, thats it, this was written a long time ago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22339966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tasibi/pseuds/tasibi
Summary: “And when I explored, and found the thin line separating the mind and body,-” Her face scrunched up in distaste, “I was banished. “ Her smirk returned as she sauntered towards them, her breathe wrapping around them.“Want to know something, Paladins? There were two of us who were banished, yet only one stands here now.” Her eyes glanced at the photo of two olkari in a shuttle, both of them wrapping arms around each other. “They discovered just how thin that line was, and now-”She dialed up something, sending a jolt between the two of them, and making their vision go hazy.“I’ll show you too.”-----AKA: Lance and Keith become a fusion. Their fusion, is confused to say the least.
Relationships: Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Implied Keith/Lance (Voltron), Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Voltron Paladins & Voltron: Legendary Defender Team
Kudos: 64





	Cogito, Ergo Sum

**Author's Note:**

> so fair warning: the timeline in this is awful
> 
> I started this on March 17, 2018, and ended literally today because I was tired of it sitting in my docs unfinished.  
> I actually drew some art for this, so if anyone is interesting in me plugging it, let me know :P 
> 
> The timeline is somewhere from s2 to s4, but it dosent really make much of an indent. I fell out of the fandom by now so sorry for the rough lore.
> 
> THIS IS COMPLETE: just I have to format everything because I wrote this entirely in google docs soz BUT this is the longest oneshot ive ever had lol
> 
> enjoy! hopefully :P

Red raced over the planet’s, Simor, fields. It was a beautiful sight, and Lance would have stopped and smelled the foreign flowers if he wasn’t currently busy, y’know, fighting off the overlords of the universe or anything. Simor was a defenseless planet, and was just freshly born, so there was a very primitive species living on it along with several other animals, called Simmorians. 

_“Just go down there to see how the planet is doing, and if there are any invaders”_ his butt. The planet just happened to be smack dab right next to a huge Galran colony, and they, by trying to take back a planet that had never been free, agitated that colony (well, sorry. He thought sarcastically). And now there seemed to be a slaughter going across the planet’s beautiful fields. 

(If he cried a tad when he saw a dog-like creature be shot- no one commented)

“Pidge, how quickly can you send out a distress beacon to the blade?” called the ever-so-stern voice of his once hero, Shiro. She grunted in response, the clicking of her fingers over a holographic keyboard resounding through their lion com’s ( _lions coms, Pidge, its comedic genius)._

“Uhhhh,, one seconddddd…. Got it!” A beep this time, and he could practically hear her slump back in her chair in relief, already knowing her hand had cramped. 

“Nice job, Pidgeon-” 

“Hunk, send out a message to Coran that we need backup from the castle.”

He pouted. How rude, even he knew not to oh-so-rudely interrupt someone while talking, unless you wanted a week of no internet. _For your own good,_ his mama said. 

_“Keith of the Blade. Fraction 4. How may I be of service?”_ Lance was startled from his seat, merely missing the shot he was making towards one of the battleships. He hadn’t heard that voice in ages.

“Mullet Head-?”

“Keith.”

Ah, again. He was interrupted again. Lance was having a hard time believing this was the Space Dad Shiro he knew and loved (platonically, Shiro was way out of his league).

Keith let out a breath, and then continued speaking. _“Shiro? Where are you guys? If you would, send me the coordinates.”_

“Sending coordinates to Emo Space Ranger…..now!” 

_“On my way to you.”_ And his com was turned off, well, there goes his chance to speak with the most not-dull person around. (Sorry, Hunk)

“Holy-!” He was then smacked into, Red rocking to the side as she tried to stabilise herself after another shot to her body. Her mainframe whizzed and sparked as it was shot another time by some electrical field object. Lance grunted, clutching his shoulder with his right hand since he was cross-dominant and preferred his right hand for shooting rather than steering, and his shoulder took the brunt of the impact. Huffing, he managed to find a spot amiss the wide array of blue and green foliage that was obscured by trees that looked like they came from the Lorax. The spot was surprisingly clear, and didn’t seem to be affected in any way to the battlefield outside.

Lance relaxed a bit, still on guard, but tensed again as the adrenaline of battle wore off and he felt the strong burning in his shoulder. Barely holding back a yelp of pain, he tried to remove the armor on his left shoulder.

What he saw made him nauseous. 

The shoulder armor had snapped off from the original piece, sending the alien metal through the flightsuit and into his skin, penetrating it. Everytime he moved the armor went deeper, making him almost cry out. 

“Lance? Where are you? We need Red’s fire power.” Said Hunk, a tad bit concerned. Lance could hear the sound of gunfire the lions’ coms.

“Ugh. Just fine. Give me a sec to .. get me bearings!” His voice raised a tad in decibels as he felt Red being shaken. The sound of metal on metal as someone, some _thing_ tried to pry open Reds’ entrance. He looked over to the mainframe, panic seizing his heart and dulling the pain in his shoulder. 

“Guys. I have a shoulder wound and someone-,” It hit the door again, “Is trying to get it.” 

The line went silent, Hunk lowered his head in shame as he could do nothing as his hands were tied. 

_“On my way.”_ Keith's’ line went flat again.

Keith placed mute on his side of the line, redirecting his route to Lance. It was difficult to find him, but he heard yells and sound of a familiar gun that he followed. He could barely get there in time.

The trees that Lance had took coverage in were signed black from the gunfire. There had been more than one person trying to get in, which made it more clear as to why he heard marching sounds heading towards the Red Lion.

“Lance!” He shouted, gritting his teeth as he pried open the metal door that had been welded shut. “Lance, are you in there?” 

All he got was a grunt, yelp, and another amount of consecutive shots as a response. Keith collected himself, moving into the Red Lion’s cockpit. Which was nothing short of a warzone (trust him, he knows what that looks like.) The usual grey and white metallic walls were painted in a variety of colors, signifying a mixed race. He saw bodies shoved into crevices, but he had learned to tune them out. 

Lance was in the midst of it all, head lolled to his side and body being dragged away from the lion from the broken mirrors of the lion. 

“Lance!” He said with more urgency before, however, he gave the Galran Minions his exact position, and before he knew it the world turned white. A hissing noise next to his ear.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Ugh...Keith?” Keith’s eyes fluttered open, immediately being shut as he felt a throbbing on the left side of his skull.

“Keith? Buddy? Bro?” He groaned, cradling his ear, which still had the hissing next to it.

_“What?!”_ He hissed, opening his eyes and pinching them into a glare.

Lance stood there, battered and bruised and a large swelling near his head. His helmet lay on the ground, the familiar red hue making him wince. Keith then took a second to come to himself, gathering his surroundings. He had been in cells before, and none had ever looked this run down. The usual purple walls were actually covered in foliage, which was a breath of fresh air. Their cells usually had no doors, and were opened using Galran DNA, which was why he so easily escaped every time he was captured. But no, this one had a cell door to it, rusted and well-used.

“Do you have a concussion?” Lance snapped him out of it, bringing his focus back to the blue-to-red-paladin.

“I..don’t think so?” He winced at the confused tone to his voice. “Where are we?”

Lance snorted, “In the hands of the enemy. Obviously.” Keith rolled his eyes, hands feeling up the walls for any breaks in the rock.

“I know that, dingus. The question was rhetorical.” He sighed, and the metal door came crashing open, causing his ears to ring again, and Lance to jump back.

The Galran man- no, Alien, stood tall. They could see hints of his galran heritance in the patchy spots of purple that was mixed with the tawny brown of another alien species. He was not the most muscular, but he was still very lithe. His tail whipped back and forth, his whole body covered in green peach fuzz, his yellow eyes only accenting the whole form. The man looked at them, his body covered in a steel-like material from his chest, arms, and legs. 

“Paladins, the High Priestess calls for you.” The man’s voice was soft, surprisingly, but a tad bit raspy. If he wasn’t the enemy, Lance would be swooning.

Keith’s heart dropped, his pulse rising steadily. The only high priestess he had ever heard of was Haggar, who else could it be?

The man could obviously sense how nervous he was. He glanced at Keith, his arm was still leaning up against one of the walls. 

“Do not fret, Paladins. We are not under the rule of Haggar, and you shall be treated kinder here than any other colony.” Lance let out a sigh of relief, but then he let out a wicked laugh.

“Still, I hope you do enjoy the the torture here, we have the finest cuisine.” His lips curled into a wicked smirk, and he grabbed two pairs of cuffs and cuffed Lance in one. Keith still put up a fight, snapping his teeth at the Galran. Lance was frozen,still with fear and shock. 

They were dragged across the overgrown floors, no Galra approached them. There were no Galran drones or foot soldiers, the silence making the situation even more uncomfortable. Keith tried to map out the route they were traveling, but the twist and turns, the looping vines and plants with the dark purple, everything looked the same. 

They finally arrived to another steel door, this one looking more new and modern. For the first time since they arrived they heard voices, the tongue the voices were speaking was muffled behind the door. And left Lance to wonder how they would be tortured, cut off the limbs? Slit the skin? He shivered, electrocution? 

The Garlan man, now known as Vilumn after he heard another Galran hybrid hiss it out, placed the two of them in chairs. It was like a loveseat, except the two loveseats were both connected by some strange metallic wire.

Lance looked at Keith nervously, eyes watering in an obvious sign of being terrified out of his mind. Keith kept his head lowered; ashamed. He instinctively raised is as another galran entered the room, her face was hooded, and everyone cleared the room immediately . 

The woman smirked, her hood falling back. She was not Galran, but Olkari, and her face was still shaped ovaly and her eyes were complete amber. Something was different about her, while the Olkari were kind, her features were darker than most, her leaf like hair falling to her shoulders, and a lightning shaped scar on her left cheek. 

_“Paladins,”_ Her voice was too smooth, and carried a happy jingle to it. It was scarily persuasive, “ _I’m sure you’ve visited Olkarion before. My people, so in touch with the mind and body, yet never exploring their reaches. But what else?”_

She chuckled, then moved across the room. The chair they sat in unleashed cuffs around their arms and feet, a crown shaped device on their heads.

_“And when I explored, and found the thin line separating the mind and body,-”_ Her face scrunched up in distaste, “ _I was_ **_banished._ ** _“_ Her smirk returned as she sauntered towards them, her breathe wrapping around them.

_“Want to know something, Paladins? There were two of us who were banished, yet only one stands here now.”_ Her eyes glanced at the photo of two olkari in a shuttle, both of them wrapping arms around each other. _“They discovered just how thin that line was, and now-”_

She dialed up something, sending a jolt between the two of them, and making their vision go hazy.

_“I’ll show you too.”_

_~~~~~~~~~~_

Shiro had called a retreat, ignoring the missing presence of the red paladin and the blade member.

“Shiro, wait. We have to go and look for Keith and Lance-”

“No time.” He huffed, miffed and clearly annoyed, “They'll have to find a way back on their own.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Lance took deep breaths as he tried to anchor himself, the cruel crown around their heads glowed a bright green. Pidge, he wished she was here, making a sarcastic comment to help reassure them. Hah. Where were they? He..

_He was losing himself._

He, Lance, shook his head. Groaning as whatever was coming from the crown was forcing the thin line between him and _him_ to break into shards and merge to heal. It hurt so much, so much.

The man beside him was no better, he was writhing and gasping, yet the woman nearby was chuckling. Faintly, he saw her presence was not solid, the aura around her was a solid blue, but would waver off Into a yellow or green occasionally.

The man, he, screamed. As the pink hue of red came towards him, forcing them together. They, he, who? It hurt so much, he, hurt. Please, lord. Make it stop, make it stop.

It did.

They looked around, the pounding of Keith on his right(?) And Lance on his, their left (?). 

They then fell into a dark slumber.

_  
  
_

A yellow light struggled to penetrate the sealed doors, the only sound the heavy breathing from a body that lay deathly still, trapped to a chair. The body groaned, a throbbing migraine springing it awake.

_̈ ̈ Keith?”_ He asked, the body now awake and aware, “Keith! Where are you?!”

Lance felt a brush against his mind, the sensation so similar to the lions..

“I’m right here. Where are you?” Keith asked, looking around and glancing at his hands.

He froze.

His skin was not the normal pale white he had been used to seeing, but was a chocolate brown, similar to Lance’s.

“Lance?” His voice shook with fear, Lance’s concern brushing against him, “Do, do you think we might have been.. fused? “ He didn’t want to admit it, but he said it out loud. Lance then burst through the small line that held their individuality together. 

_“Keith!’,_ Lance’s voice was no longer coming individually out of his, _their_ , mouth. But was a singular blend of both their voices. He mentally sat down in his mindscape, opening his eyes and seeing Lance there before him, a blue ring of mist surrounding him; he only assumed red curled around him. 

“Are we.. fused?” Lance snorted, giving him a slow clap.

“Good observation, genius.” A loud thud brought them back to the present, when they looked forward a large screen presented someone else’s point of view. Their voice was gentle and raspy, loud but hoarse.

**“Where am I? We? Uhh, I do not know.”** Their brow furrowed in confusion, whoever they were didn’t know.

**“I think this is the body the lady gave us.”** Lance’s tone was picked up in his speech, but he was then cut off when the metallic door creaked again.

_“Oh! You’re awake!”_ The olkarion fusion croaked, _“Now, who exactly are you? What would you like to be called?”_

**“The names your worst nightmare, witch.”** The fusion looked taken aback, then her eyes went steely, and she stalked closer to them, him?

_“You're still self-aware, we’ll have to fix that.”_

She placed a code onto the pad, her slim fingers dancing on the blue touchpad. The computer like device chirp, then two cuffs we groaned, throwing their head back as shocks ore placed awkwardly over the hands of the strange fusion. They felt electricity run up their spines. Keith screamed as a mental wall seemed to be caving around them. Forcing Lance and him to become closer until they were chest to chest, bodies writhing in agony.

**“oH My God!”** They, he, weren’t religious, but oh lord. Save him, please. 

The distorted image of a large family, no, small flashed across his vision. The silhouette of an Olkarian woman stood out against his distorted vision, her black frame standing hauntingly over their small form.

_“What is_ your _name, little one?”_ The lady, an enchantress, moved across the room to a large panel. They deducted she controlled the pain they were feeling, and scrambled across the badly blended aura of blue and red mixing to form purple. The two presences around their minds slowly gave, until the purple had consumed most of the color.

**“** **_Kira_ ** **, my name is Kira.”**

~~~~~~~~~~~

_“Shiro! Allura!”_ The two in question turned around, eyebrows raised from having their conversation interrupted.

“Yes, Pidge?” Allura chirped in her very heavy british accent, retying her bun.

“It’s the lions; Red and Blue, they’re, they’re _merging.”_

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~

When Kira came too, it was in a dingy, run down, cell. Briefly, they recalled two figures in the same room. What were their names? They swore they knew them, it was on the tip of their tongue. 

The migraine pounded at their head, a swirling whirlwind of a fusion’s confused memories. Their mouth recited the spanish in their head, quietly imagining two figures going back and forth. To save their brain from turning to mush- a familiar voice would have laughed at that- they chose to focus on their current situation. 

Faintly, they recalled four aura that shone brightly, and the magic entangled with them. Voltron. The two people from before must have been part of this group, they concluded.

They nearly barfed, their hand almost digging into what seemed to be very fresh mud and mold. Looking across, they realized a mirror was positioned directly in front of them.

They stared for longer than a minute, as the two strangers seemed to sit beside them. They had a slight tan, not too dark. And their eyes were a blue-greenish, along with a long marking stretching across their face. It was very faint, but the sign of freckles developing was apparent. They were dressed in typical prisoner robes- don’t ask them how they knew that- and their hair, a light chestnut, framed their face delicately.. Briefly, an image of a tech smart girl fell over them as they stared at their reflection.

  
  
  


**“Are we in prison?”** They thought briefly, hands maneuvering back and forth between the cramped room they were in. 

**“Oh.”** They said, startled at the large plate hanging above the door that read _YOUR NAME IS KIRA_ in all caps, of course.

**“Kira? I am Kira. “** They didn’t truly like the name, as something in them protested against it. KIra didn’t get why though, it was a beautiful name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you mean _‘Red and Blue are fusing’?_ ” Allura huffed, moving down from her place at the helm of the ship, towards Pidge.

“ _I mean,_ Red and Blue are, quite literally, fusing together!” She said, holding her chin up even in the presence of Allura.

Shiro paused, then looked over at them with wide eyes. “Allura, could this situation not be tied to Lance and Keith being captured?”

Pidge snorted, crossing her arms, “Yeah, like you’ve done anything to find them.” 

Allura glared at her, then glanced at Shiro.

“If-so, it's now an even more dire situation we have on our hands now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Ok, what to do now?_ Kira thought to himself, seeing nothing except the nameplate on the barren walls. How’d he even get here in the first place? He must have committed some atrocious criminal offense to be locked up in a prison like this. Not that he had been in one before, **wait had he-?**

Anyways, the room stayed barren. However, he could faintly hear the echoing steps of a, what he assumed to be, warden. He groaned, clutching his head as the ever pressure behind his temples returned. And with it returned the dissociated feeling of being completely not-whole, the two figures names returning to the forefront of his mind.

_Whatever, I think the guard approaching my prison cell is more important._

The door slammed open, and it wasn’t a face of a guardsmen, but a small lithe figure, their hair cut short and the shine of glasses prominent on their face.

_“Matt?!”_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kira turned his head to the side, in a puppy dog style as he stared strangely at the intruder.

“Um, sorry? My name is Kira, are you the prison warden?” She blinked at him, and then cleared her throat.

“Excuse me, I’m Pidge, Green Paladin of Voltron.” They stared at one another for a second, before Kira decided to break the silence.

“So, Pidge, am I in here for a specific reason or…?” She looked flabbergasted at him, then narrowed her eyes.

“You don’t know why you’re here? Sorry to say this but you are literally the only person here.”

This time, it was Kira’s turn to be shocked. “Only one-? Weren’t there two other guys. Something like Kody and Lauren? Kenny and Landro? Uhh..”

“Keith and Lance?” The paladin said all too enthusiastically, grabbing Kira’s arm and helping him up outside the door.

“That's it! I have the strangest feeling I saw them earlier.” He moved out the door, eyes widening at the crumbling interior of the place.

“Do you know where they are?”

He shook his head, “No, sorry.”

She sighed, chest tightening. “It's.. not fine. But I guess it can’t be that easy. Come on, I’m gonna get you out of there.”

He considered his options, he could stay back and wait, or he could leave and get out before the place falls down. Yep, looks like the latter was winning out.

He moved with her, brushing his hair out of his face. Suddenly, he spotted a dirty jacket hidden outside one of the rooms. It was longer than his waist, and the cuffs fit him nicely. It was a warm brown, and had crimson stripes up the jacket, the inside being white. It was a nice jacket, so he discreetly wrapped it around his waist.

Pidge didn’t notice, and he tried not to gape at the familiar strange mechanical lioness before him. He wondered if it was a war machine.

“Get in loser, we’re going.. uh .. home.” If it was a joke, Kira didn’t get it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shiro rubbed at his forehead, palm resting on his arms. Of course the lions would start to fuse. Of course he would lose two paladins. Of course Pidge needed to go on a recon mission for whatever.

“Shiro,” Allura said to him, “Pidge has returned.”

“Oh, that's wonderful news.” Coran said from his place at cleaning the helm, even though no one was talking to him.

“Indeed,” He said, “I’ll go down and see what she managed to find.”

“Knowing Number Five she’ll have figured everything out.” Coran huffed, mouth quirking in a small grin.

Pidge had landed correctly this time (thank god) and had even stayed inside her lion after landing, which was out of character. He could only hope nothing bad happened, he swore he was already getting grey hairs, and he’s only 29!

The Green lion lowered its head and out came Pidge. This time, however, she was followed by a taller figure, shorter than Lance, but taller than Keith.

“Heyyy, Shirooo. So I think I might’ve found a lead for Keith and Lance.”

Shiro still stood there, gaping at the resemblance to the two paladins. From the look on Pidge’s face, she must think the same thing.

The figure smiled at him, then walked up to shake his hand.

”Hi, I’m Kira. You are so buff it's intimidating and the hours of workouts you must do is also intimidating, nice to meet you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shiro just stood there for at least a solid five seconds, his face contorting in what humanity could only describe as complete and utter confusion. The ex-prisoner just stared at him, not hearing the high pitched wheezes from the green paladin.

“Umm, nice to meet you, Kira?” He absolutely beamed at that, and shook his hand with even more ferocity. Shiro couldn’t help but notice the familiar hair and blue eyes, all similar traits to Lance. The name made him feel even more guilty for his dismissal of the two earlier, and now they were missing.

“Ahh- Shiro, Pidge! Just the paladins I was looking for.” Allura then came, her hand waving at them from the stairs leading to the lion chambers, “Have you gotten a lead on- Oh dear!” All of a sudden she stopped in front of Kira, gripping her head as if she had been on the bad side of a migraine.

“Lance?” She said, looking up at Kira, who just looked confused, “No..Keith?”

“Princess, what's wrong?” Shiro asked as she paced around the foundling.

“His aura, it's like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” Pidge then perked up from her spot sat on the floor, “Aura? What do you mean by ‘aura’?”

“Everything has an aura, a sense of their very being. I can’t quite explain it in scents, but color is significant as well. This Kira has both Lance and Keith’s auras, almost like he’s..”

“A fusion?” Pidge, once again, interjected.

“Yes. I find it hard to believe Keith and Lance go missing, their lions try melding together, and then this prisoner shows up with both their features and aura; is just a coincidence. However, it's never harmful to double check.” She snatched Kira’s arm, dragging him out of the hangars and to what he assumed was the med-bay.

Shiro just signed and rubbed his temples.

“Lord, please bless me with an ibuprofen."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kira felt absolutely helpless as the alien lady with the weird ears and white hair dragged him out of the large bay and into some sort of medical area (?). There sat another weird-eared man with orange hair and a funky mustache. He wondered what type of hair products the man used ( some part of him scoffed at that, which part, he wasn’t sure)

“Allura? Is that you?” The oompa loompa hair man turned around and said. His eyes then finding Kira and gasping in a very dramatic manner. “Oh Altea, who is this mighty fine chap!”

Allura rolled her eyes and then released the arm she was gripping and japped him in front of the alien man. “His aura is a blend of Keith and Lance’s, Pidge and I believe he’s a fusion.” 

“A fusion, you say?”

“I said the same thing, Coran. But quintessence never lies, and just looking at him speaks volumes.” The alien lady moved closer to him, pointing at the orange man as if cueing him to squint. “If you look closely you can see his aura sometimes shifts out of place, and red and blue sometimes pop up. I think this is Keith and Lance trying to gain their own individuality.”

What? He didn’t know who these people were, couldn’t even remember who he was, but why were they saying he wasn’t a ‘real’ person? Sure, maybe not outright but the subtext is heavy in their tone. Kira shifted in the medical chair, suddenly even more uncomfortable under the two alien’s scrutiny. 

“Listen, I don’t know who you are. I woke up today in a prison, got transported to some space-castle by a flying lion, and now am being told I’m not even a real person. I am so frickin tired right now I’m going to bed. Good. Day.” He didn’t know where that anger came from, it was so sudden. But he was right, he thinks. There was a comforting presence next to them, cool, almost blue. He relaxed immediately, muscles going lax.

Now, looking back, he doesn't even know where he’s walking to. Wait. Since when was he walking? He just needs some way to vent right now.

“Huh. Would you look at that.” Apparently his feet had taken him to some sort of training ground? Must be for paladin training. Looking around Kira saw a large button next to the door. Of course he pressed it first without thinking.

The doors started closing, _welp, it's been nice remembering my existence by a total of a couple hours_

But it was just a startup screen in front of him. The hologram was blue and hovered right at his midriff. The screen said some strange scribble, but changed to something legible for him. It asked for his handprint so he did so. The system buffered, constantly switching from something ending in -th and something ending in -ce, before settling on **REGISTER NEW USER?**

Smiling he messily wrote out **_Kira_ **on the screen. It loaded then gave him a large list of options. Not knowing what they meant, he settled for the one called “Tutor.” A robot dropped from the ceiling, sending him to the ground. It held out to him a large sharpened lance.

“Woah dude, this is soooo cool!.” The weapon was light weight, allowing for a far enough battle distance, and also was extremely sharp and agile with a small pistol on the handle, allowing it to be withdrawn in case of long distance action.

**KIRA, you have selected the (BEGINNER) class. Is this correct? Please say YES or NO**

He glanced, “Um, yes?”

**AFFIRMATIVE. Welcome to the Beginner Annotative. To start, you must fix your posture. The way you hold yourself is as if you are holding a gun, not a lance.**

Kira stepped back, he hadn’t noticed it but his hand was grasped around the weapon like a gun. He uncoiled and stepped back, placing the lanced dull end on the floor and the sharp edge poised ahead of him.

**EXCELLENT. The lance is a lightweight weapon, treat your weapon with respect and it will do onto you the same. You may always change your weapon. But for now I have scanned your physical shape and determined this was the best course of action to take.**

The robot moved, shifting its form to an angle and resting the lance on the curve of its arms, from the back. Kira did the same.

This continued for several hours, but by the end of it Kira felt, well, dirty and sweaty, but also far lighter. All that anger was gone leaving with the feeling of accomplishment and exhaustion.

**I have noticed you are worn down. CONGRATULATIONS, you did exceedingly well for a novice and lasted 4 HOURS, 18 MINUTES, AND 20 SECONDS. I expect to see you soon. GOODNIGHT, KIRA.**

Wow, that long?

The robot shut down, the doors unlocking and the lighting now more dim in the halls.

“Okay, I am so sweaty- eww I reek! Jesus, I’m going to break out if I don’t take a shower now!” He padded along the wall, finding the common showers were located right next to the training room. _Makes Sense,_ he thought, _You wouldn’t want a bunch of smelly kids walking through the castle where I’m assuming they use recycled air._

Let it be known that showers were a blessing, he actually felt like more of a person (faintly, the brushing of two presences gave off feelings of amusement, but he chose to ignore that.) Looking in the mirror was strange since now his skin actually looked a bit more tan, and his hair was actually not chestnut at all, rather a dark brown, almost black.

“Must’ve been all that dust in that cell. That place was super beat up. Speaking of cell, how the hell did I even get in there in the first place.” Whatever. He was tired so he’ll just sleep on it.

“KIRA? What are you doing out so late?” 

Kira put a hand over his heart, “Holy Cheese Crackers you nearly gave me a heart attack, Coran!”

Coran chuckled, “I apologize, but it is far too late, and you humans need to get through your Circadian Rhythm! Come, follow me, I’ll take you to a room!!!” He said, far too excitedly for this hour.

“So, my boy, how do you feel?”

“Hmmn? Oh well, I’m not sure. I was thinking about what you two were talking about and I don’t think that's true. I am my own person, if I wasn’t I would have both of their memories wouldn’t I?”

“Not necessarily my boy, there has been talk of total fusion before. I just never saw it for myself before.”

Kira quirked an eyebrow, “Total Fusion? What’s that?”

“Like it says on the tin, it is the complete fusion of two people. Well, it can be more than two but higher than three and it starts becoming difficult to fully merge. When people go through Total Fusion they aren’t just a blend of each other, they are entirely new people made from two people. Typically it's used in cultures where they believe marriage is the literal merging between two people.”

“And what do they do afterwards? Relearn life itself entirely?”

“Essentially, yes. And to my knowledge, there is no reverse since it merges the very foundation of that person itself.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Kira was dropped off in a strangely familiar room. It was mostly blue and black themed, with cute little lion slippers. Stepping into the bathroom he saw a mass array of face products, as well as a flat iron, hair ties, headbands, and facemasks. Oh sweet jesus he was in heaven right now.

He noticed there was a pair of black boxers and a large blue coat over them. He shucked off his clothes, placing the red jacket on the hanging rack. Feeling refreshed he washed his face, brushed his teeth, and began combing his hair.

Kira paused, oh crap he had curly hair! It wasn’t that noticeable all slicked back but combed forward it was actually very curly. So he put in a few extra products; some leave-in, hair oil, and put on a headband.

The second his head touched the pillow he was **out**

  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~

Lance blearily opened his eyes. 

"Yikes, my head. Wait.. Where the hell am I?!" He jolted up and found he was in a strangely stark white room. And once he stood up he couldn't find the place he was laying down, and the "floor" didn't feel like it was truly there. He felt like something was missing. 

_"Lance?"_

"Oh my God. Keith? Are you there?"

_"Yes I am. Where are we?"_

"Hell if I know." 

They paused. 

_"Lance, why can't I see you?"_

"I.. I don't know." 

_"How did we get out of that place?"_

"I don't know, Keith."

Another pause. 

" _Who's_ **_Kira?"_ **

The room disoriented, and before him he saw the faint outline of Keith take form. It was like Keith, but almost an aura of red followed him. His brow was furrowed, and his red jacket and boots were missing. 

"Oh my God, Keith are you okay?" The red-err- blade member looked worse for wear. His whole complexion was drawn and sickly. 

Keith laughed, "You can't say you look much better, Sharpshooter." 

Lance glanced down, he had gotten closer to Keith to check on him. As he did, he noticed that his hand and chest were no longer surrounded in blue, but flickered to a rich purple, then back to blue. 

"Keith… I want to try something." 

"Uhh, okay?" 

Lance brought his hand closer to Keith, almost touching. He held his breath, and Keith tensed. He looked up, eyes asking for permission. Keith nodded, an affirmative. He shut his eyes closed, and clutched Keith's hand. 

It was an explosion of color behind his own eyes. And it was so painful, like the pain they felt when they were sat on the witch's chairs. But it felt like that missing piece was slotting into place. The red and blue were flickering again, forming black then purple. Keith wrapped his arms around Lance, overwhelmed. It was strange to see Keith so vulnerable. 

_"Lance,"_ He mumbled into the paladin's shirt, _"I.. I think I know who Kira is."_

Lance returned the hug, burying his face in the other's shoulder for help. 

_"Yeah.. I do too."_

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Holy crap, Kira!" 

Kira bolted straight upwards, panting. Hunk was over him, with Pidge not far behind. 

"We were monitoring your vitals and we noticed an increase in heart rate, as well as the princess feeling another quintessence shift in the castle. Is everything alright?" 

Kira heaved for breath, feeling like he ran a marathon. 

"Yeah.. I think so," He hesitated, "and.. I think I know who Keith and Lance are now…" 

They both blinked at him.

"Ehh? How?" 

He gripped his head, "I'm not sure but.. They are aware that I..that I am _me_ and that they also exist with _me_ but I am not them. It's.. Confusing?" 

Pidge chuckled, "Yeah you could say that again." 

Hunk laughed at that, "So.. Did they say anything on how to unfuse?" 

Kira grimaced, "About that.. I don't think they are aware of just how.. Fused we are. And… I

_I don't want to go."_

"Well.. You wouldn't be dying but.. Uh." 

"Yeah.. Exactly. There is no way to get Lance and Keith back without me…Without me _dying."_

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

It feels like the universe couldn't cut Voltron some slack. First of all they were thrown into a 10,000 year old war with little to none training and awareness of alien life. Second of all, literally every single battle ever. Period. 

And then they had two of their teammates. Well, one former one. Fuse. Fuse! Hunk couldn't believe this stuff half the time. It sounded like a badly written fan novel or something along those lines. 

He and Pidge were at a loss. This new person they formed(yes a new person _)_ was… A

A person. If they wanted Lance and Keith back, essentially they'd have to kill this Kira guy. And he didn't want to do that! 

Gosh. He missed the simpler times a lot these days. 

Pidge and him were working towards finding an alternative goal. After their talk with Kira, Pidge kept all eyes on Kira, especially when he decided to train. Hunk remembers a week into Kira's stay he was watching Kira fight the training bot. Kira had grit his teeth, face furrowed and teeth clenched, and he had jolted himself over the robots back, pressing the deactivation button on the back. Hunk had been amazed, that move was so similar to the ones Keith pulled. 

"Oh woahhh," Kira had muttered, "I did not know I could do _that_." 

Time passed almost too peacefully, and with it grew the ever pressing urgency to sort out the lion issue. 

"What about the… uhh, red and blue lions?" 

Shiro sighed, pressing his fingers against his temples, "We need them to form Voltron. You, Kira, are both of our paladins. So we can't form them." 

Kira thought, "Well ...Couldn't you find new ones?" 

"No." Allura chimed in, "The Lions don't take new paladins unless they have died or betrayed them. And even then, the new paladins usually always have some relationship to the old one." 

Kira frowned. "I know you guys want me to unfuse and stop being me. It's not happening. I don't want to die."

"We are going to die anyways if we can't form Voltron!" screamed Shiro. The room was silenced, this was out of character. 

"They will come for us. They will notice we aren't using two lions. They _will_ abuse out vulnerability because this is _war_ and any advantage against the" enemy" is a good one, do you understand? "

"Shiro. I understand that. But I'm going to be selfish here and say that I want to live and enjoy myself. Sorry." 

So he did. Every planet and mall they visited he collected and sheltered things. He went out and met people and took photos and videos. 

Almost like he knew he was on limited time. 

It was a dark night, like always when in Space. Kira was sat on his bed, leg bouncing up and down from where he clutched his own head. 

Two presences made themselves known, comforting him and by default, themselves. 

"Yknow, I don't want to take your guys' lives." He started, and a brush of blue concern came onto him. 

"No, listen. I know you guys are people. And I should just let you two unfuse. I know I can do it, I… _I just don't want to?_ I want to live, and I love living. I don't want to stop existing." 

Red and Blue didn't know what to do. They settled for enveloping themselves in their mix. It was all they could do, without forms. 

But no one else but the three saw that night. So, Kira still went and lived. He ignored Hunk crying at night, missing his best friend. He ignored it. 

He was getting good at it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

They were in another space mall. It was relatively smaller, and a bit more run down. Something was eerie about it 

The people there kept on giving him side glances as he ate his food. A weird chicken wrap that tasted more like a liquid than anything else. Or well, he assumed it was a chicken wrap. He hoped it was inside. 

Despite its run down appearance, the mall was pretty high tech. It had these small projectors everywhere, which showed just the usual ads. He got pretty good at blocking these out. But something about this one made him look up. 

It was two female aliens, he thinks. One of them was a light teal alien with long antennae and slim posture. The other was grinning madly. A yellow skin graced their complexion. Something about them was so familiar, and, If he squinted hard enough, he swore he saw a green looking alien. 

_"Hi! Have you been a victim of forced TF? IF SO! Call this GD-Phone for help!"_

Below the screen, a brief explanation on what a forced TF was. It vaguely said that it was a Forced Total Fusión. And that the person on the phone should help you seperate and choose on whether or not you want to stay fused, occasionally fuse, or set the fusión free. 

"Fusión free? The hell is that." 

An alien mother looked taken aback at his cursing but answered his question. 

"Oh honey, have you not heard? They are taking people from high positions and forcing fusion on them. Fusion is loving, but when forced it can get very bad and self destructive. I was part of a fusion, but we set them free."

Kira blinked, finishing his "chicken wrap". 

"What's that? Freeing them?" 

"Oh! My bad. It's when the two or more components decide to let the fusión reside in a new body. In other words, they can call that number on the screen and get a chance to meet a WebMaker!" 

"What's a WebMaker?"

The mother chuckled, "Well, aren't you curious? I don't know much but some say they created some lifeforms entire race and allowed them to exist. I don't know how they do it. It's incredible. Hmm, do you know a forced fusion?" 

Kira hesitantly laughed, "Well, sort've… you could say that." 

~~~~~~~~~~~

He didn't tell the crew what he learned. Instead, he kept it to himself. 

It was something in him that made him paranoid. If this whole thing was true and not a sham, he.. He could live and be here still. He would do whatever he could to live at this time. 

It was another day, and Shiro didn't even reprimand him anymore. Hell, half the crew just looked at him sadly, probably remembering Keith and Lance in him. 

The number was strange, and to even call he had to get a Galactic Data phone, which wasn't too pricey but it was still up there. 

It lead to a location near the Milky Way. So. He took a pod and flew off. It took too many hours to count, and he lost track because of his falling asleep. 

But he got there. 

Kira could stare at it for hours. It was a planet of pure blue and clouds. It looked like what the classical heaven was described as. Pearly white gates and all. He can't believe his pod almost crashed, that would have been awful. 

"Excuse me, sir" This tall figure said. He was right at the gate, and was huge. The alien was pale Grey, and looked over everything. Nothing about him was menacing though, he seemed friendly. 

"Ah! Sorry! I was tired and almost fell asleep." 

The alien snorted, "That's alright. What are you here for? It's not every day I get a visitor." 

Kira shuffled about, "Uhmm well, uh. I'm a forced fusion?"

The WebMakers eyes widened, "Oh dear, I wouldn't have been able to tell. You seem more blended than any other forces fusion I've come across. If you are here. I assume you are here to split and free yourself." 

Kira nodded, "I want to live. But I want them to live too."

"Understood. Please, follow me." and so he did, into those pristine gates and past the almost lodge looking home. 

"I don't get a lot of visits. Not compared to less tasteful Webbers. So I'm glad to be of service. Before you sit, can I ask who your components are?" 

"... Of course, sir" 

"No need for sir, just call me.. William?" 

"Okay, Will. I am made of Lance and Keith. Lance was- _is-_ the pilot of the red lion and the previous pilot of the Blue lion of voltron. And Keith is the previous pilot of the red lion, and now current Blade member." 

William's eyes were blown, "Oh-oh a paladin and a blade member? Quite a Dúo if I must say so myself." 

Kira chuckled,"Yeahhh, long story." 

"Of course, please sit down young..?" 

"Kira." 

"Please sit down then, young Kira." 

William sighed, "This is a tough case. Lance and Keith's quintessences are so intertwined into one another, and their auras are just stronger than most. If I free you.. Your body will not be your current age it is now." 

Kira grimaced. "That's… thats fine. As long as I exist." 

William smiled crookedly, "Kira, you exist therefore, you are." 

**_"Cogito, ergo sum"_ **

~~~~~~~~~~~

The process was long, as to be expected. Since the amount of forced fusions was increasing, Webmakers had less material to work with for those who wanted to free their fusion. 

William had told him we would be given the body of a four year old. That was the most he could put into making the body. 

Kira said, "Fuck it. Guess I'll have the chance of a childhood, right?"

William grimaced, "That's a better way of seeing it. Though to some degree you will retain your personality." 

Kira sighed, "Aghhh.. Welp, how are we doing this doc?" he leaned on one of the chairs in the living/office room they were brought into. It was lavish, a red tone to everything. 

"I will have to seperate your components from another. But I'll take a small piece of the fused auras and place it in the body I'll be making you out of your current DNA. Imagine it's like, I'm taking a piece of you to make almost a child, so when Lance and Keith seperate , you are in their care."

"Ight, sounds _que bueno,_ heh. Why do I feel so cynical right now?" 

William looked at him softly, before moving them to a more professional and sanitary office. In it was the two containers that he was going to place the combined auras in. 

"Friend, you'll be okay. I'll see you in a couple years."

"..Thanks! Sure hope so. Tell Lance and Keith that I'm going to be the best four year old ever, oh and also to take me to Earth.". 

"I'm sure they will. But I'll make sure to tell them, Kira." 

"Thank you." 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Red did not exist separately no longer. It was a collision of forces. Blue no longer gently wrapped around him, he was being towed away, and that just wouldn't do. Red made the movement to fight, but he felt a tail end of Purple drift outside, somewhere else. Blue was wrenched away, and all of a sudden. 

Keith existed. 

Lance existed. 

And so did Kira. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lance and Keith were in the pod, given an extra large one for more space as the original one Kira came in was far took small for three people. 

William explained to them what their fusion had done. And Keith and Lance explained that they knew what happened, but also didn't. 

William laughed, "That's what most of the fusión components say. Best of luck on your travels. I hope to see Kira again soon!" 

Speaking of Kira. Lance had the little toddler sprawled across his chest. He knew how to hold him because of his nephews and nieces. But he couldn't help but stare down at the little child. He knew that Kira had existed. But he and Keith essentially created a life. It was different, yes, but he was going to treat this kid right. 

Not to mention Kira had the curliest hair and dark brown hair, almost the shade of Keith's black. He cooed a lot in his sleep, and furrowed his brow like Keith. His skin took from Lance's side, but he bet if Kira opened his eyes, they would be Violet like Keith's. 

Keith hadn't talked to him much, only blushing a lot when he looked at Lance and Kira together. 

It was strange, and he needed some time to sort his thoughts out. Heck, he hadn't been himself in a months time. Which was really weird to think about. 

But they were here in the now, and speaking of that they landed the pod. Walking up from the castles hull, Lance paused to give Keith a big smile. 

"What are you smiling about, Sharpshooter?" 

"Hmm.. I don't know. Your blushing face is kinda cute, mullet." 

"Wait.. What? LANCE!" 

And that cued their team coming down and seeing them, screaming. Then seeing the child swaddled in Lance's arms. 

"Yeah not gonna ask." said Shiro, rubbing his temples again. 

"I'm gonna miss Kira, but I'm glad he's sort of here and you guys are back. Lance and Keith I MISSED YOU! I'm going to bake you your favorite sweets!" 

"What a splendid idea! Tomorrow we will have a feast and also go shopping for little Kira here and make sure he's alright."

"Are you sure you guys are okay?" Shiro asked. 

They looked at each other, then down at the little guy. 

Keith answered, "Not yet, but we will be." 

~~~~~~~~~~~

_The tape clicked into the tiny screen._

_"Is this thing on? Helllooo! If you are seeing this, Keith and Lance I'm probably not existing like uh, this right now."_

_The boy spun around in the pod chair._

_"I'm on my way to a Webmaker so you two can exist again. Aren't I so nice? Pfft I'm hilarious."_

_"I was thinking about what my last recorded words could be. And I think I've got them."_

_"Don't let someone else undermined your existence. You exist, I exist. I think therefore , I am. You think, therefore , you are."._

_"I exist therefore, I am"_

_The tape player stops._

  
  
  


**_Finis_ **


End file.
